Ugly Orange Reflectors

KCKizashi · Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:18 pm

TheHolyGhost wrote:I would say that that is very very impressive. How many miles do you have? I was looking in the manual and it looks like the suggested oil change is 7500 miles? Or do they just not list it in between the 7500 mile service intervals?

The manual and maintenance books both show every 7500 miles for oil changes. Just a friendly reminder, keep VERY detailed records of oil changes, save ALL the receipts, etc. I had an A4 that suffered the oil sludge issue. thankfully I had all the receipts so Audi had to repair everything under their extended sludge warranty. As an FYI - I used full synthetic from day 1.

Hawkzilla · Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:39 pm

TheHolyGhost wrote:I would say that that is very very impressive. How many miles do you have? I was looking in the manual and it looks like the suggested oil change is 7500 miles? Or do they just not list it in between the 7500 mile service intervals?

I went ahead and switched it to full synthetic at 1500 miles. All the research I did on the engine pointed to that being enough miles to be okay to switch. I got the Fram Extended Guard filter http://www.fram.com/oil-filters/xtended-guard.php and 5w-30 Mobile1. I had to buy some oil filter pliers to get the filter off, but it was a really easy and clean (and fun) oil change. I figure changing at 1500 I can now wait until 7500 for my next change, then I plan on every 6000 after that with new filter as well. I learned the warranty isn't void unless you have a problem and they can prove that it was caused by an oil problem, which will never happen under my watch.

Anyway, it cost me around $32, and IMO worth every penny. I have my air filter coming Monday, so my Kizashi "care package" will be complete.

Hawkzilla · Thu Jun 03, 2010 3:42 pm

KCKizashi wrote:
TheHolyGhost wrote:I would say that that is very very impressive. How many miles do you have? I was looking in the manual and it looks like the suggested oil change is 7500 miles? Or do they just not list it in between the 7500 mile service intervals?
The manual and maintenance books both show every 7500 miles for oil changes. Just a friendly reminder, keep VERY detailed records of oil changes, save ALL the receipts, etc. I had an A4 that suffered the oil sludge issue. thankfully I had all the receipts so Audi had to repair everything under their extended sludge warranty. As an FYI - I used full synthetic from day 1.

You ended up with sludge even with full synthetic? How often did you change the oil and the filter? They say you can change the filter every other time, but it's best to just go new every change. I went full synthetic with my cougar from 1,000 miles and I had a very slight drip at around 60,000, but never had any sludge or HP loss issues.

The A4 is badazz BTW.

KCKizashi · Thu Jun 03, 2010 4:15 pm

Yep. A4's and some VW's that had the same 1.8T engines were prone to sludging. so much so that Audi and VW provided an extended 8 year sludge warranty

TheHolyGhost · Thu Jun 03, 2010 4:16 pm

The B5 A4 seemed like it could create sludge out of anything. I had one too but it had electrical problems before I got a sludge issue. It was a great car to drive but too expensive to maintain for me. I started running synthetic when I bought it with about 50k.

KCKizashi · Thu Jun 03, 2010 4:25 pm

TheHolyGhost wrote:The B5 A4 seemed like it could create sludge out of anything. I had one too but it had electrical problems before I got a sludge issue. It was a great car to drive but too expensive to maintain for me. I started running synthetic when I bought it with about 50k.

I had a B6 A4 and thats the reason I got rid of it for the Kizzy. That damn thing was eating me out of house and home! I love Audis but I'll NEVER own another one beyond the warranty period. As soon as the warranty was out it seemed like a bunch of things started breaking. Window regulator, wiper motor, AC fan.. etc

Hawkzilla · Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:03 pm

Is it because of the turbo? Maybe getting so much HP from a smaller engine?

Either way, you guys have convinced me to keep better records of my oil changing habits.

TheHolyGhost · Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:21 pm

Turbos are much more dependent on good oil because of the extreme RPM they operate at, I assume that this causes the oil to breakdown faster. I'm not an expert by any means, so I'm not sure if sludge is a general turbo concern or not, but it seemed to be a bigger problem with the 1.8T. KC I agree with you though, if I ever get another Audi it'll be a lease.

Hawkzilla · Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:03 pm

From what I understand, the Kizashi has a rather large engine for a 4-banger, so hopefully that won't be an issue. Though in 4 years if I decide to buy-out my lease I will be putting the turbo kit on it (290hp) for sure, so I will make sure I change the oil more often.

KCKizashi · Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:13 pm

Just an FYI - when I had my Audi, there were several great user forums for technical articles, such as how to replace a window regulator; how to install XM, etc which saved me a bunch of $$$ over the years by following the articles from other users and doing the repair/install myself instead of taking it to the dealerships. I've asked "Moto" about a section like that for here and he's already working on it. So, whenever anyone changes these ugly Orange side markers for the clear ones, or does a modification, take pictures and provide step-by-step instructions for the rest of us! I saved about $350 on replacing my window regulator in my A4 from someone who did the same. The guy even had what size torx bits to use, where each screw/bolt was located and the part number to be replaced.